Saving Money the Green Way
An eco-friendly lifestyle can also be a treat for your wallet as many of the methods you can use to go green can result in substantial cost savings. Check out these ways to help the environment and save money.
Insulation
Moving into winter, gas and electricity bills are on the rise. Improving the insulation of your home means that your house will lose less heat and so you can cut down on both your heating bill and your contribution to harmful emissions. Forty percent of the heat in your home is lost through the loft and walls, so if you are choosing just one eco-friendly change then loft and wall insulation is the way to go. Government estimates put the cost of insulating a loft at around £230 (about $363.00), excluding labour, and cavity walls at £260 (about $411.00). You may even be able to get a grant from the Energy Savings trust to help with the cost. You can also insulate your hot water cylinder to gain savings of £20 (about $32.00) a year on your got water bill.
Energy-Efficient Boilers
According to the Energy Saving Trust, a new boiler can reduce energy bills by up to £240 (about $379.00) annually. They may offer you a grant to help with the cost of a new energy-efficient boiler.
Double glazing
Your windows can also be causing your house to lose heat. Double glazing throughout your home can save up to £100 (about $158.00) annually on your energy bills. Alternatively, make sure you draw your curtains behind radiators so that the windows are better insulated.
Draught-proofing
Simple draught-excluders can help to keep your home’s heat contained. This solution is low-tech and extremely cheap but can make a substantial difference to your energy costs.
Energy-Saving Electrical Goods
The more energy efficient the light bulbs, fridge and other electrical goods in your home, the less energy you use when they are running. Look for appliances that have a high rating on their European Union energy label as they will be the most energy-efficient.
Reduced Water Consumption
Installing a low-flow showerhead will reduce your water consumption and your water heating costs. Low flow showerheads can be bought for less than £20, and if you are on a metered water rate you can institute other water-saving measures such as putting a flush-saver in your toilet cistern and re-using any non-soapy washing up water in your garden.
This editorial is a guest post from the car rental comparison site vroomvroomvroom.co.uk.
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Photo: B. Alter, Wall, October, 2011
A picture by Van Gogh, interpreted as a 
Photos: via 
Image credit Lloyd Alter
images credit Lloyd Alter
The point of having a booth at Greenbuild is to attract attention, and like with everything else, design matters. I immediately fell in love with the Kohler booth; In some ways it is so 2005 green, with its recycled materials and kraft paper signage, but it is also really well done, beautifully proportioned, designed with style and humour. I definitely thought it was best of show, and evidently was not alone; it also got the "highest award level for its sustainable booth design and construction" from the US Green Building Council....
I am a huge fan of 
Photos: Toshihiro Sobajima for 
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Images credit KB Homes
Whenever
On the Caribbean Sea, Colombian firm 
2. Breathe Living Wall, made by DIRTT Environmental Solutions, improves air quality and conserves energy by relieving the load of ventilation systems. The system fits any flat wall or vertical building surface. Plants are watered at one point at the top of the wall, and as the water moves through the trough system, wicks from other pots bring water up to the plants. 
7. Mobile Solar Power System, made by Pure Power Distribution, designed its Mobile Solar Power System to replace dirty, noisy diesel generators, which create air pollution in the form of carbon dioxide, particulate matter and carcinogenic compounds. The company also makes a hybrid system that combines solar power with a biodiesel generator that kicks in when needed.
Photos: Sergio Gomez.
World renewed for their work in Medellin, especially with the 
Old cast iron rad in our living room. image credit Lloyd Alter
Over at the
30,000 green building professionals are coming to Toronto for Greenbuild in October; this series will try to explain Toronto to them.
There has been a lot of green building going on in Toronto and much has shown up on TreeHugger; Here is a roundup of some of the buildings we have shown. Perhaps the most dramatic and important recent addition to the Toronto scene is Stephen Teeple's 60 Richmond Street East Coop, that is green, gorgeous and from the public sector yet, proving that social housing doesn't have to be boring and oppressive. 
images credit zHome
On September 29, 2008, the Down Jones Industrial Average fell 777 points, the economic crisis and Great Recession started, and they broke ground on the zHome project in Issaquah, Washington. Now, three years later, the project is complete and the units are for sale.
The 10 unit townhouse project is spearheaded by the City of Issaquah and designed by 
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Image Credit: Michael Jantzen
